Five ways to be more productive.

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Procrastinate because of laziness which leads to being unproductive, which in the end makes me feel crummy. That’s how I see myself most of the time. I have always been someone who procrastinates. I’ve realized that there are a few reasons why I delay getting things done. But I’ll write about that on another post. Today, I want to write about being productive.

On rare occasions when I do get my butt moving and actually get things done, I’d be so focused, I can’t stop. Which feels great! But that’s the thing…this does not happen very often. I think my biggest problem is starting. Once I start, it gets the ball rolling and then I’m good just as long as I don’t get interrupted in between. If I do get distracted, that’s it. I’m done.

When a lot of things don’t get finished, I know the work will accumulate and then I get overwhelmed and stressed and then I procrastinate and then deadlines add up and then I feel crummy because things don’t get done… You get the picture. It’s a deadly loop.

So what do I do to make sure I be productive everyday (or so I try to be every single day)? Here are some tips that help me be more focused.

1. Clear the clutter

Whenever I see things cluttered around in the room or work space, my mind will also get cluttered. My mind is a reflection of what I see. It gets cluttered because I am overwhelmed with so much work to be done. As we all know, work will never end. When I have too much in my head, I will have a hard time knowing where or how to start. It’s the same with a messy room. When you have too many things lying around, it will be hard to find things.

So this is the area I will always try to tackle first. In order to clear my head, I have to make sure I am not in a cluttered space. Whenever I start to get overwhelmed, I will drop whatever it is I’m doing and start clearing things around me. I will keep things away from my sight. Organize my space to make it look more pleasing. I’d color coordinate stuff if I have to. Once my space is clean and organized, like magic, the feeling of wanting to do work appears. For me that is.

2. Make a to-do list

This is probably the most given advice by anybody about how to get productive. And it should be. Because it just bloody works! Writing down a list of things you want to do just makes it easier and organized.

Now there are a few tricks for me to ensure I do follow my list.

One trick for me is to write down very specific instruction. Here’s what I mean.

These are examples of a vague list:

• Car
• Rent
• Groceries
• Finish all reports

Now, since this is your own to-do list, only you will know what you mean when you write them down. However, the problem with this is that it is harder to put them into action because it’s too vague.

Here is how I write them down:

• Make appointment for car repair
• Pay house rent
• Buy bread, milk, whole chicken, etc. (Basically do a specific list of things to buy)
• Finish up August sales report

See the difference between the vague list and my list? Make actionable to-do list.

Another trick I do which I have just adopted recently is to have only 3 – 5 things on my daily to-do list. This is especially useful with bigger projects I need to tackle. With a shorter list, I will not get overwhelmed and it’ll feel more do-able to achieve just a few things a day.

Sometimes I will put them into timelines. So like for example, one of my task as a lecturer is to mark student exam papers. Here’s how I will write them down:

Mark exam papers
– Monday – Finish marking HTL1013 papers (i’m speaking in jargons here but just assume the code represents one subject.)

– Tuesday – Finish marking HTL2013 papers.

– Wednesday – Key in total score into system.

– Thursday – Submit student results.

So yeah. Making lists works. Besides, I love lists because I love the idea of striking it off once I’m done. It makes me feel more productive.

3. Listen to music

I know for a fact that the majority of the people i meet need music whenever and wherever they work. While driving, while writing reports, while working out, while cooking, while taking a shower etc.

Myself included. Heck, I listened to music from the time I was growing in my mum’s belly. She would put headphones around her belly for me. So it’s natural for me to want to have music whenever I do any work.

However, there is one thing that I have come to realized just beginning this year. Took me this long, huh? I realized that the type of music I listen to makes a difference in how productive I can get. For the longest time, my playlist will always be those Top 10 hit songs on radio. Songs. Music with lyrics. I mean, nothing wrong with it right? But I noticed songs with lyrics sometimes can be distracting to me. Instead of using my brain to do work, I actually end up using my brain to focus on the words to the song. If I know the song well, I’d even start singing out loud. This is not good for task where I need to think of ideas or produce reports. It’s ok for me to listen to songs which I can sing-a-long for tasks that are mundane because I don’t have to put so much thought into it.

So now, whenever I have to put some thought into my work, I will choose instrumental music. This will put me into a better mood and I will have less distraction from songs. My favorite Spotify playlist search are in the Coffee Jazz category.

4. Pomodoro Technique

Pompomwhaaat? I discovered this technique just recently when I was browsing through my app store to find a time management app. This technique basically uses an interval system where you set a timer for 20 or 25 minutes to work and about 5 to 10 minutes break before you continue with another 20 minutes of work.

The specific app that I downloaded is called Productivity Challenge Timer. There are many more apps that uses this method. But what I like about this particular app is that it makes it a little bit fun whereby I can earn ranks every time I finish one work interval. Find one that works for you. Why this method works for me is because the timer gives me a sense of accountability and I technically become more focused in my work.

Since I know I only have 20 minutes to do one task, I am more determined to get through that 20 minutes without any interruptions. Meaning, no social media or browsing through the internet. I have this strong love-hate relationship with it. I hate that these technology just sucks you of your productivity but at the same time was built for productivity.

Thank God for Pomodoro.

5. Set the ambiance

Ambiance is key to changing the mood. It’s like when a guy plans to proposed marriage, he needs to make sure the place of proposal is romantic enough so that his partner is in the mood to accept the proposal.

So in terms of work, I like to be in a well lit room preferably with all the shutters wide open. I like to be able to look out the window while I work. I don’t necessarily open the windows especially when it’s really hot outside. Borneo = summer all year round.

I also work better when it’s not too hot or too cold. I seriously can not work if the aircond is too cold.

The right ambiance: Cool breeze with a stunning view.

The perfect ambiance for me would be to have my own personal work space or office in a cool (NOT COLD) climate and a magnificent view. One day, i will have that personal office space. In the mean time, I have to make do with where I am; a cramp shared office.

So there it is. My top five things I do to keep myself productive. I can say that today is productive for me because I actually manage to finish writing one blog post. I hope this list can help you out too.

I would like to know what you do to keep your productivity level up every day. Leave me a comment below.

Till the next post. Later!